1980s leading sake ladies

Posts by the generously named Society for the Preservation of Traditional Japanese Sake-making Techniques Using Koji (日本の伝統的なこうじ菌を使った酒造り技術の保存会, nihon no dentōtekina kōji wo tsukatta sakezukuri gijutsu no hozonkai) highlight a short film by female amateur film-maker Kiyoko Kaneko, and the career of Kazuko Shiiya and other women featured working at the Aumont brewery in Niigata Prefecture. 

Kaneko, the first woman to qualify as a first-class sake brewing technician (一級酒造技能士, ikkyū shuzō ginōshi) received the Commissioner’s Award from the Agency of Cultural Affairs in December 2024. She earned her qualification in 1976, was made responsible for analysis at the brewery and then put in charge of making kōji and managing fermentation, becoming tōji in 1979 and paving the way for other women to do the same. 

Now 82, Kaneko joined Aumont at age 25, inspired by how kakkō-ii (cool) the kurabito looked, and says she did the same work (including heavy lifting) and was treated no differently from her male colleagues. She also said during an event where she was joined by another, younger, female tōji that she hopes brewers will carry on the traditions of sake making regardless of gender, nationality or age.

An article by the Hotel Okura in Nikko also speculates that she was the model for fictional works such as the 1998–1991 manga Natsuko no Sake by Akira Oze which was made into a TV drama in 1994, and the 1993 novel Kura by Miyao Tomiko, which was adapted for stage play, TV drama and film.

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Even if you don’t understand the Japanese narration, the footage of equipment and processes in the 1980s brewery is fascinating.

Sources:
杜氏の華 YouTube, posted in 2023 (video, Japanese, 14:39)
杜氏の華 Society for the Preservation of Traditional Japanese Sake-making Techniques Using Koji 9 Feb 2025 (Japanese)
匠のわざと日本の文化を未来へ紡ぐ 伝統的酒造りシンポジウム （金沢） Society for the Preservation of Traditional Japanese Sake-making Techniques Using Koji 8 Feb 2025 (Japanese)
ホテルオークラゆかりの日本酒を販売開始 Hotel Okura Nikko 17 May 2022 (Japanese) 
日本初の女性一級酒造技能士、椎谷和子氏が文化庁長官表彰を受賞 Aumont Brewery 17 Dec 2024 (Japanese)